Ilia Topuria: A date with destiny
It seems as if Ilia Topuria has a date with destiny.
The rise since defeating Josh Emmett has seemed unstoppable. “El Matador” has put away two fan-favorite fighters in Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway.
Now moving up to 155, he’s facing off with another fighter adored by fans: Charles Oliveira. To become double champion, he will have to rip the hearts out of fans once again. And it seems like that’s inevitable.
Comparing Ilia Topuria to the greats
The UFC has seen several meteoric rises and Topuria seems to be on his way. Looking back at fighters like Conor McGregor, Brock Lesnar, and Ronda Rousey, Topuria’s trajectory is very similar. He’s conquered a division, much like McGregor, and looks to capture another title as the Irishman did.
These fighters that had massive trajectories also have a nemesis. For McGregor it was Jose Aldo, Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Ronda Rousey had Miesha Tate. Alex Pereira? Israel Adesanya.
Ilia Topuria has failed to make a rival. There was, and still is, mutual respect between he and Max Holloway, Alexander Volkanovski, and even Charles Oliveira this weekend. To really put him over the top, there needs to be an adversary, a bad guy. There is one guy that has that potential coming up the pipe…
Oh, Paddy the baddy
The adversary Ilia Topuria is looking for is Paddy Pimblett. The two have had major back and forth moments online and in person. The two have tossed bottles at each other, threatened each other and have wanted to fight since Topuria and Pimblett hit the scene.
Pimblett is on a meteoric rise of his own. Topuria is the former featherweight champion. Pimblett’s rise hasn’t been quite as fast. But his last two fights have been emphatic. First, he submitted Bobby Green. Next, he beat the snot out of Michael Chandler.
Paddy Pimblett is the adversary that Ilia Topuria needs. Pimblett needs Topuria. Either way, the two are intertwined. Topuria has a tough task ahead of him in Charles Oliveira. Should he win, look for the UFC to fast track Pimblett to a number one contender fight.
